Katherine Poppin was born in Pleasant Hill, Virginia in the summer of the mid 1840s. Her family trade was taxidermy, and she learned it alongside her two older brothers, Alexander and Roger. Kat and her brothers would go hunting for game and then work their trade on the animals brought back. Unfortunately they weren’t the best at determining whether or not a kill was clean and sometimes got attacked by their prey; a possum bit her and she got badly scratched by a squirrel. The squirrel attack left her very sick and she nearly died. Since then, Kat’s been loath to go near either rodent. Katherine married Jerome Miles in 1858 and by all accounts the two were quite happy. He was a furrier and leather-worker and their skills were well matched. When the conflict between the states began, the two fought ceaselessly over involvement. Jerome saw it as an affront to southern rights, while Katherine saw it as an issue which didn’t affect them since they weren’t farmers. This was a war being pushed by an aristocracy afraid of losing their power, and Jerome’s goal was to someday BE part of that aristocracy. The fight got ugly with Jerome accusing her of undermining his authority as her husband and head of house. Kat called him an idiot and a fool for believing the southern gentry would ever accept them. Words were exchanged, objects were thrown. Jerome announced he was going to join the Confederate army and left; he later signed up for the 8th Virginia Cavalry. Knowing better than to be a woman alone in this dangerous time, especially with both North and South fighting over Virginia, Kat moved in with her brother Alex for some time. After West Virginia ceded from the CSA and rejoined the Union, Katherine received a letter from Jerome stating he would forgive her for being a stubborn and difficult wife if she went to rejoin him in Virginia proper where he was stationed. She burned the letter. Once the war was over and reconstruction begun, Katherine had no desire to go back to Jerome. She rather enjoyed the freedom of a “single” woman. Despite the fact they have not gotten a legal divorce and she’s kept his name, Kat does not think of herself as married. She left West Virginia and travelled west to learn more about the exotic and wild animals of the plains and prairies. The new trend in taxidermy was naturalism; making the animals look like they did while in their environment. Familiar as she was with east-coast animals, Kat now seeks to learn more about western wildlife so her displays will look more naturalistic.
Katherine married Jerome Miles in 1858 and by all accounts the two were quite happy. He was a furrier and leather-worker and their skills were well matched. When the conflict between the states began, the two fought ceaselessly over involvement. Jerome saw it as an affront to southern rights, while Katherine saw it as an issue which didn’t affect them since they weren’t farmers. This was a war being pushed by an aristocracy afraid of losing their power, and Jerome’s goal was to someday BE part of that aristocracy.
The fight got ugly with Jerome accusing her of undermining his authority as her husband and head of house. Kat called him an idiot and a fool for believing the southern gentry would ever accept them. Words were exchanged, objects were thrown. Jerome announced he was going to join the Confederate army and left; he later signed up for the 8th Virginia Cavalry.
Knowing better than to be a woman alone in this dangerous time, especially with both North and South fighting over Virginia, Kat moved in with her brother Alex for some time.
After West Virginia ceded from the CSA and rejoined the Union, Katherine received a letter from Jerome stating he would forgive her for being a stubborn and difficult wife if she went to rejoin him in Virginia proper where he was stationed. She burned the letter.
Once the war was over and reconstruction begun, Katherine had no desire to go back to Jerome. She rather enjoyed the freedom of a “single” woman. Despite the fact they have not gotten a legal divorce and she’s kept his name, Kat does not think of herself as married. She left West Virginia and travelled west to learn more about the exotic and wild animals of the plains and prairies. The new trend in taxidermy was naturalism; making the animals look like they did while in their environment. Familiar as she was with east-coast animals, Kat now seeks to learn more about western wildlife so her displays will look more naturalistic.
Back to Character Sheet